I picked up a Record A151 spokeshave today. Probably paid a few dollars more than it was really worth, but this thing is in absolutely new condition. The iron is “sharp” as in factory sharp and has never been sharpened. The enamel isn’t even scratched.
Just trying to set it for a fine cut, I get a lot of chatter. I know the iron needs sharpening and I’ll break out the stones tomorrow evening, but how fine a shaving should I be looking for?
Thanks……..
Replies
About . . .
"About this thick," he says, holding up his hand with his thumb and index fingers touching. ;-)
I watched a segment of "Woodwright's Shop" a couple of weeks ago that featured Brian Boggs. As I recall, his shavings were pretty thin - at the self-wrinkling stage.
Feddle, feddle, feddle
wericha:
Even after honing the iron, that Record spokeshave is far from being able to take fine shavings without chatter in hardwoods. First, you need to lap both sides of the iron flat on a good reference surface then hone the bevel. Second, carefully flatten the bed with a fine file, don't overdue it. Third, flatten the back of the iron cap (the triangle piece) and hone its bevel making sure it will seal all the way across the iron just like the chipbreaker on a plane iron. Finally, assemble the spokeshave, retract the iron, and flatten the sole. Take you time, remove as little metal as needed to get all of the flatten jobs done.
When adjusting the iron back it out and turn the adjusting knobs down to extend the iron throught the mouth until it barely cuts. If you over adjust, back the iron out and start again. There is some slop in the screw adjusters and you want the pressure pushing down so the iron doesn't shift when taking a cut.
Last but not least, Record irons have too much chromium in the steel mix making them difficult to hone super sharp. Consider getting a Hock replacement iron. The performance difference is night and day.
Just hold your mouth right while you do all this feddling of the spokeshave and you will end up with a serviceable tool.
gdblake
wericha,
In addition to the good advice you have already gotten, I'd add a little on technique. Try to hold the shave at a slight angle (askew, not at right angles) to the work so one end of the edge is cutting in advance of the other. While advancing the blade along the work, slide the shave sideways, so as to use the whole width of the blade with each stroke. This makes a slicing cut. When (not if) chatter occurs, reverse the skew angle of the shave, so the blade doesn't catch and deepen the washboard effect of the chatter marks.
Ray
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